Christian Horner admits that he would accept a "hired hand" role at Ferrari, amidst fresh speculation over Fred Vasseur's future.

Ever since being fired by Red Bull mid-2024, Horner has been looking for a way to return to the paddock. An investor consortium in which he is involved was linked with Alpine, as well as a potential entry from Chinese EV manufacturer BYD.

The Briton has also been linked with Ferrari, but the new contract handed to Vasseur last year appeared to slam the door firmly shut on that particular avenue.

Now, speaking to The Times, Horner has openly admitted that, like Lewis Hamilton and so many others, Ferrari would be the dream.

"I've been a hired hand," he says. "I did 21 years sitting on the pit wall. I don't need to go back to that.

"At this stage in my life, there's only one team for which I would accept non-participation in ownership," he adds.

"Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It's the dream. And arguably it's the sleeping giant of Formula 1."

Horner's 'come and get me', invitation comes at a time of increased media pressure on Ferrari as the Italian team loses ground to Mercedes and McLaren gradually gets its act together.

However, in recent days things have taken a new twist, with claims that Ferrari is looking to replace Vasseur for his own good, with talk of the Frenchman's health and the need to ease the pressure on him. In other words, it appears Ferrari is looking to sack the Frenchman, but in a nice, honourable way. Ferrari has history.

"I think the fact that, fourteen months out of the sport, they're still talking about me shows that there's still a demand," says Horner. "Perhaps I wasn't that unpopular.

"I'm in a very fortunate position in that I can afford to be picky," he adds, the Briton now free of the infamous 'gardening leave' millstone. "If I don't do anything, I can live here for whatever time I've got left on the planet, and just worry about whether it's going to rain and make the grass green or not," he smiles.

"But is that going to fulfil me? No. I still feel that there's another dance. And Toto needs to have his hair f****** ruffled up."

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, Vasseur seeks to play down the talk.

"It's difficult," he admits, according to Formula Passion, "but not only for me because it involves all the members of the team. Last week we had to read that someone will be fired and honestly all this puts the team in a corner.

"I think that F1 is enough of a huge challenge, with four teams fighting for a penny," he adds, "even if Russell's advantage was a little more than qualifying in Baku.

"The lack of serenity certainly doesn't help the team, but that's the way it is and we need to keep working."

From the outside, though Ferrari isn't delivering, certainly not at the level expected of the legendary team, and continues to make the same sort of mistakes witnessed long before Vasseur's arrival, the team does appear more settled, and that makes for a good foundation.

However, with John Elkann seemingly pulling strings and talk of factions within the team, perhaps a stronger hand is needed on the tiller.

Whether that strong hand is that of Horner, who knows, but recruiting the controversial Briton would surely not go down well with everyone at Maranello and would no doubt lead to a couple of years of unrest.

If nothing else, it gives Drive to Survive some (much needed) new material.